Penholder



(No Model.)

W. A. GAY.

PBNHOLDER. No. 539,581. Patented May'ZI, 1895.

IN VE N TOR THE roams runs co worauwa. WASHINOYON n c UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIC WILLIAM A. GAY, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

PENHOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 539,581, dated May 21, 1895. Application filed August 28, 1894. Serial No. 521,491. (No model.)

ToaZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. GAY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Newark, county of Essex, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pen-holders, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof, in which similar letters'of reference indicate corresponding parts in allthe figures.

This invention relates to pen holders and has for its object to provide means for securing the pen in place and for quickly removing the same. There are many disadvantages of the present style of such devices, among which are that the pivot of the clamping device employed extends through the sides of the holder and causes irritation to the fingers which rest upon the edge of the pivot, and also that the handle or lever of the clamp projects outwardly against the fingers, causing similar discomfort. My invention is primarily de signed to obviate these difficulties, and further to provide means for clamping either a small or large pen within the holder, and also to produce a device or attachment which ma be sprung into any ordinary holder in whic it is desired to incorporate my improvements.

The invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a penholder embodying my invention in the position it assumes in writing, the same being shown as held in the hand. Fig. 2 is an elevation of a portion of the penholder, the forward end thereof being in longitudinal central section. Fig. 3 is asimilar view wherein the extension of the penholder on which the device is mounted is removable. Figs. 4 and 5 are edge views of the devices shown, respectively, inFigs. 2 and 3.

In the practice of-my invention,I form the shank A of the pen holder with a forward extension A, havinga vertical groove A therein, in which is pivoted, by means of the pivot a, a cam a, square upon its gripping surface and provided with a forwardly ranging lever b.

In the under side of the tube B, which forms part of the holder, I form a slot 0 extending from the front of the said tube rearwardly to the level of the groove A in the extension A.

The lever b, which extends appreciably be-- yond the open or front end of the tube 13, may thus be drawn outwardly and downwardly as indicated by dotted lines in Figs. 2 and 3, though the depths of the slot 0 and of the groove A are such that the said lever cannot be depressed further than at right angles to the tube.

The raising and lowering of the lever 1) respectively bring the cam a in and out of engagement with the side of the tube Bopposite that wherein the slot 0 is formed, be-

tween which and the cam a the pen d is'usually inserted, and in ,this side I form two longitudinal corrugations or indentations e struck in the metal to form ridges e upon the interior of the tube, the object of such corrugations being to insure the rigid grasping of the pen, as unless the curve thereof were a counterpart of the segment of the tube against which the pen ordinarily rests, no proper clamping of the same could ordinarily be effected; but in my improved form of pen holder, the pen does not come in contact directly with the tube proper, but rests against these ridges e, and the direction of force of the cam being between the ridges, the pen is gripped by three distinct surfaces. I

The operation is as ordinarily, with the exception that by reason of the forward or outward projection of the lever 5, whereby it is out of contact with the fingers when the pen is in position, such lever is moved rearwardly to release the pen instead of forwardly as heretofore.

The extension ofthe shank A may be removable as shown in Fig. 3, wherein I have open tubular body 0 of less diameter than, and arranged eccentrically within the tube B, and somewhat elliptical in order to engage with that portion of the tube against which it rests. This tubular body. 0 is open upon its under side and provided with inwardly extending flanges f through which the pivot a of the cam a extends. This body 0 may thus be sprung in the tube of an ordinary pen holder, and it is but necessary to out in the holder-tube a slot 0, whereupon the same is transposed into one of the classto which my invention appertains. 7

ICO

provided, in place'of the said extension, an I The advantages resultantfrom the use of my invention will be obvious from the foregoing description, not only by the provision of improved means for grasping the pen and for providing a detachable device applicable to any pen holder, but also by reason of the pivot on which the cam is mounted being wholly concealed within the holder, whereby it does not project even slightly therethrough, and the lever being pushed forwardly to clamp the pen is outof contact with the hand. Fur-' thermore, the square face of the cam prevents any possible slipping of the pen.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a pen holder, a cam for clamping the pen in place, pivoted to a support located wholly within the holder tube, substantially as shown and described.

2. In a pen holder, a cam pivoted Within the same to clamp the pen in place, and a lever thereon to actuate the same, the said lever projecting forwardly from the cam when the same engages the pen, and being depressible to the vertical position only, substantially as shown and described.

3. In a pen holder, a cam for clamping the pen in place, pivoted to a support located wholly within the holder tube, and a lever thereon projecting forwardly therefrom and beyond the front of the tube when the cam engages the pen, the said lever being depressible to the vertical position only, substantially as shown and described.

4. A pen holder comprising a shank and a tube upon the forward end thereof, corrugations struck into the tube where the pen rests, and a cam pivoted within the tube and adapted to bear against the pen between the corrugations, substantially as shown and described.

5. In a pen holder, a tubular elastic body adapted to fit within the forward end of the holder, having acam pivoted therein adapted to clamp the pen in position, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name, in presence of two witnesses, this 24th dayofAugust,

WILLIAM A. GAY. lVitnesses:

PERCY T. GRIFFITH, C. GERST. 

